Gerald Dwayne Martens, 56, of New Haven, MO, passed away Saturday, April 28, 2018 at Mercy Hospital, Washington, Missouri. Dwayne was born in San Diego, California on March 8, 1962, a son of the late Gerald & Kathryn (Freeman) Martens.He was the husband of Sheila (Pointer) Martens. They were united in marriage on June 11, 2005 at St. Peter's United Church of Christ, New Haven. Dwayne was a member of St. Peter's United Church of Christ, and the Sons of the American Legion. He worked for many years for Metal Craft Enterprises. He also bartended at both Haggies in Union and the Knights of Columbus Hall in Washington, where he got to know a lot of peopleDwayne is survived by his wife Sheila, of New Haven, by a brother, Robert Martens, of Rolla, Missouri, a brother-in-law, Mike Pointer & wife Cindy, of New Haven, by three nephews, Jaymes Martens, Skylar Southern, and Andrew Pointer, by two nieces, Ciarria Martens, and Ashley Southern, and by numerous aunts and uncles. He is preceded in death by his parents, by a sister Anna Southern, and a niece Kayla Pointer.

Dwayne was a MSHA umpire. He umpired softball and baseball games for the American Legion and high school games. He loved to fish and was a St. Louis Cardinals and New Haven Shamrocks fan. He also drove the bus and worked the scoreboard and time clock for the East Central Rebels Basketball Team.Visitation will be held Wednesday, May 2nd from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Toedtmann & Grosse Funeral Home, New Haven, where funeral services will be held Thursday at 11:00 a.m., with Rev. David Poe officiating. Memorials may be given to New Haven Athletic Assoc. or New Haven American Legion Baseball. C/O Toedtmann & Grosse Funeral Home.

Lisa Kennedy, a custodial worker here at New Haven, has been working in the district for 16 years after starting in 2002. She is a hard-working person who strives to do her best under any circumstances.

Ms. Kennedy will often be found driving students to and from their homes, as well as driving students to their sports events. She enjoys her interaction with the young adults, teachers, and students, and loves watching their sporting events.

If Ms. Kennedy could use any one word to describe herself, it would be “ready.” Ready is defined as “preparing (someone or something) for an activity or purpose.” How does this describe Ms. Kennedy?

“I check everything to make sure it is ready to go,” Ms. Kennedy responded. “I want everything to be in proper order. I will do anything-- as long as it’s planned. I am a planner.”

Many people have good things to say about Lisa.

“Lisa always takes time out of her own life to drive us players and coaches around to almost all of our sporting events,” Meagan Holtmeyer, sophomore, commented. “She doesn't just take us there and not care about it, she actually pays attention and cares for us and congratulates us after wins or tries to make us feel better after losses. Also, she doesn't just care for the team as a whole, she cares about each individual by telling them good luck before games, asking about how the game went that she couldn't make it to, or telling us possibly how we could work to make ourselves better.”

Olivia Williams, junior, also had something to add, “Lisa is honestly one of the nicest people I know. She always has a smile on her face and a positive attitude. She works hard every day to make sure we are all happy. She often drives our bus for various sporting events. She is always in the stands watching and cheer[ing] us on. After the game, whether we win or lose, she's always there to congratulate or comfort us. Lisa is awesome and I am so thankful for her!”

Seeing that Ms. Kennedy inspires and helps children and young adults, who inspired her? At the age of 16, she lost her mother to cancer. Even with that, her mother was her inspiration and role model.

“My mom taught me to keep going, to keep fighting. To make the best of your day, week, month, and year. Nothing is handed to you, you have to work for it."

Ms. Kennedy graduated in 1981 from Steelville, MO. She was an EMT and was going to college at ECC to go into the health field, but had to put that dream on hold due to a car accident. After she recovered, she wasn’t interested in that field anymore.

Ms. Kennedy then went on to work at the Care Center and started working at the school.Ms. Kennedy loves her job here, even though it wasn’t necessarily her first choice in a job. “I enjoy working here. I enjoy how competitive our kids are, I enjoy watching them. I enjoy the fact that everyone has challenges, but we come together and work to help and encourage. This is a good school, with good people in it.”

She doesn’t want to stop there though. In the future, Ms. Kennedy still wants to do more in her life.“I want to eventually own a store-- with a little bit of everything. Antiques, books, movies-- anything with interest.”

In her free time, Ms. Kennedy enjoys watching Syfy and adventurous movies, reading any book that can catch her attention, fishing “anywhere she can find a hole to fish in”, and camping in Eminence, MO.

We would like to thank Ms. Kennedy for all her hard work, as well as her generosity towards the students and teachers at New Haven High.

Oliver James Nixon was born and passed away on April 25, 2018 at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital, Richmond Heights, Missouri. Oliver is the son of Scott Norem Nixon and Rebecca (nee Doering) Murphy.He is survived by his parents, by his siblings Ellanna and Joshua Nixon of the home, by his grandparents Jessica and Joe Moore, New Haven; Kevin and Nola Doering, Union and Maria Robinette of Washington, by his great grandparents James Doering, Pacific; Barb and Sonny Fouts, St. Clair and Patti Nixon, New Haven, he is also survived by an uncle Michael Sumowski, Manchester. He is preceded in death by his great grandparents Larry Nixon and Glenda Doering and great great grandparents Mary & Oscar Mintner, and Betty and John Baer.Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday April 30th, 2018 at the Sunset Cemetery, Pacific, Mo.

On April 27, 2018, Investigators with the Medical Examiner’s Office was able to identify the deceased male as 30 year old Michael A. Schaefer from Owensville, Mo. The vehicle that was involved was a 2012 Grey Toyota Corolla that was reported stolen from Owensville, Mo. This investigation is on-going and being co-investigated by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office with the Maries County Sheriff’s Office, The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and Owensville Police Department.

Further information will be released with future press releases as information is available.

Everyone has a favorite school lunch or a favorite subject. A recent survey was sent out to NHHS to discover what kinds of “favorites” students share-- in particular, their favorite lunches and subjects. The results of this survey are as listed below.

Cecelia Malone, junior, was asked what her favorite school lunch was. She responded with, “I love the breaded chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. It just tastes really good.” Her favorite school subject is math because “it relaxes her and relieves her stress when she accomplishes an equation."

Lydia Otten, sophomore, was asked what her favorite lunch was. Her reply was, “I would pick hamburgers because who doesn't love hamburgers?”

Meagan Holtmeyer, sophomore, was also asked what her favorite lunch was. She said, “Something with mashed potatoes. I don’t care what it is, but the mashed potatoes are the best because they are [so] creamy.”

Owen Borcherding, freshman, said that his favorite lunch was chicken alfredo because “it just tastes so good, and it fills him up.” He was asked if he thinks they should serve it more. He said, “Yes, because I only had it three times this year, and I remember not having it as much as all the other meals.”

Dianna Ribera, junior, was asked what her favorite school subject was. She responded, “Art/Commercial Arts [would be my favorite because] I can be as creative as I want and I can learn some new things when I'm working on a project. I like being able to show New Haven videos I have made for the students whenever we have an event going on.”

Alyssa Sidwell, freshman, said that her favorite subject was math. “I've always liked math. I like learning new equations, memorizing numbers, and learning about binomials and trinomials.”

Johnna Bloch, sophomore, talked about her favorite subject, and said what her previous favorite subject was as well. “I would have to say Foods because I love cooking. Child Development used to be my favorite class, but now I [just] love [to cook].

Miranda Durbin, junior, was asked what her favorite subject was. She responded, “I like all of my subjects, even if I'm not good at them. I do especially like math, mostly when it's only easy material.”

In response to whether or not it had always been her favorite, Miranda added, “Sort of. Math has always been a favorite of mine, and I'm not sure why. I just like it. But I hate it too, but only because it can go wrong and [get] confusing really quickly.”

There were a lot of similarities with favorite subjects among the students. Out of all the given responses, 7 students said Math was their favorite; 2 students picked English; 1 student picked Science; 5 students picked other activities such as P.E. and Art. 1 student also said that both Math and English were their favorites.

According to the survey results, there was a variety of favorite lunches such as pizza, chicken alfredo, holiday meals, etc.

These were just some of the students’ favorites here at NHHS. To see more featured school favorites, check out Callie Weatherly’s upcoming article on favorite teachers.

​On April 17th, New Haven High School had their cheerleading tryouts for eighth graders through eleventh graders to try out for the upcoming season next year. The newcomers were put in a group with a veteran cheerleader to show them the cheers that they were going to perform in front of the judges. The group had to perform four cheers in total, which were “Dribble it”, “T-A-K-E”, “Stand up”, and “More power to the hour.”

The group had to perform these cheers and also had to come up with new movements for the “T-A-K-E” chant. They had to perform the “More power to the hour” chant by themselves as well. After, they did any jumps they could do, along with any tumbling, like cartwheels, splits, or backbends.

When asked how they felt while practicing the cheers, junior Grace Soete said, “I was teaching the cheers to the people trying out so I felt some pressure to make sure they were prepared.”

Others felt nervous about having to remember the cheers and having to perform the cheers in front of the judges.

The students were then questioned on why they wanted to try out, and eighth grader Keegan Wiedemann stated, “To prove that cheer is not just a girls’ sport. Also, to be like my role model who is the only boy on the cheer team from the last season.”

Lexi Oetterer, junior, was asked along with others what her favorite moment was, and she said, “We were all watching Diana do the extra tumbling, and she decided to do the splits. When she sat on the ground in the splits position, all of a sudden you hear her say, ‘I can't believe I did it!’”

The suspect Ricky Johnson is in custody. At approximately 2PM a citizen spotted the suspect running in the area of Prairie Dell Road and Denmark Road. Two Franklin County Detectives located the suspect in Stable Stone Subdivision, Union Mo. Upon confronting the suspect he surrendered.. The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the citizens for calling in and the following agencies for their assistance St. Louis County, St. Charles County, The U.S. Marshall Service, The Department of Corrections K-9 teams, The Franklin County Narcotics and violent Crimes Unit, The Washington, St. Clair, Union and Pacific Police Departments. A warrant was obtained for Escape from Confinement with bond set at $100,000 cash only bond.

4-25-18/ 10:42am​Regarding the inmate that escaped from the Franklin County Jail, We are encouraging all residents that live in the area of the Sheriff’s Office and surrounding area to be sure to report anything suspicious and be aware when they come home if they notice any damage to their residence or If you suspect anything and need the assistance of the Sheriff’s Office contact 911 or 636-583-2560. Currently, at this time, Deputies, officers from numerous agencies and the Marshalls are actively searching the area for Ricky Johnson.

On today’s date at approximately 6 AM, A civilian kitchen staff member that works in the kitchen of the Franklin County Jail opened the rear door to enter the building. As she unlocked the door an inmate that was assigned as a kitchen trustee, identified as 37 year old white male Ricky A. Johnson, Jr. wearing blue pants and a white tee-shirt had ran out the door, running in a Northeast direction. Johnson is approximately 6’ tall, 160 lbs, Brown hair, Blue eyes with a goatee he area is currently being searched for the suspect. Johnson was being held for probation violations with the original charges stemming from receiving stolen property, property damage, burglary and stealing. Anyone with any information contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office 636-583-2560

Kate has been a four year member of the volleyball, basketball, and track programs. She has earned varsity letters in track all four years and for each of the past three years in both volleyball and basketball.

She has contributed to five Final Four teams throughout her career thus far. As a sophomore she was a member of both the State Runner-Up Volleyball team and the 3rd Place State Track team. As a junior she was part of the 3rd Place State Volleyball squad and the Class 1 State Championship Track team. As a senior, she again helped lead the volleyball team to a State Runner-Up finish.

Kate has received numerous conference and state honors throughout her career. In volleyball, she received Honorable Mention All-Conference as a sophomore and the 1st team honors both her junior and senior years. As a junior she was named the Four Rivers Conference "Player of the Year". Kate was named 2nd Team All-State her sophomore year and then followed that up with 1st Team All-State honors each of the past two years.

In track, Kate was the Four Rivers Conference champion in the Javelin her sophomore year. She also was a member of the 4x400 m Relay team that took 2nd place conference honors her sophomore year.At the Class 1 State level, Kate has four individual State Championships to her credit, having won both the Javelin and the 4x400 m Relay her sophomore year, and then repeating in those same events as a junior.

Kate has excelled academically as well, and plans to attend the University of Missouri where she plans to continue her track career and pursue a degree in Accounting.

Kate is the daughter of Rick and Pam Ruediger. Kate will receive her award on Tuesday, May 1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, prior to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game that evening.

On today’s date at approximately 5:15 PM, The Franklin County Sheriff Office received a call of a vehicle with a foul odor emanating from it parked on the parking lot of a closed business which was a former Burger King in Oak Grove Village. Upon Deputies arrival and investigating the call the car in question was found to be stolen and an adult body was found in the trunk. This investigation is on-going and further details will be released as they are obtained.

​On Friday, April 13th, New Haven High School students finished up the dodgeball tournament that had originally taken place during homecoming week. Teams Recess Rejects, Tune Squad, Black Mamba, Human Targets, Team Esskeetit, and The Untouchables were the last 6 teams remaining.

In the first round, The Human Targets defeated Esskeetit, and The Untouchables beat Tune Squad. Tune Squad was then defeated by the Recess Rejects, moving them into the championship round. Esskeetit was also defeated by Black Mamba, moving them on to the championship round to compete against the Recess Rejects. After two games were played, team Black Mamba (consisting of McKenzie Overschmidt, Jay Eichelberger, Luke Gerlemann, Megan Holtmeyer, and Dominic Lewis) took away the championship title.

Second place winner Lauren Gerlemann was asked how she felt about playing dodgeball weeks after it was originally held. Lauren replied, “I liked it because it was a nice way to start the weekend, not being in class.”

Emily Scheer, teammate of Lauren, commented, “I thought the tournament was fun to play in, especially with the team that we created freshman year.”

First place winners Luke Gerlemann, Jay Eichelberger, and Dominic Lewis were asked how they felt about the tournament. In agreement, they all responded, “It felt really good to beat a team of seniors twice for the championship title. The Ice Cream Shoppe food that we won tasted even better because of that.”

Teammate McKenzie Overschmidt commented, “Winning felt really nice. I hope we can continue to win the rest of our high school career!”

New Haven prides itself on keeping our school clean and well-kept. We have wonderful janitors and maintenance to thank for that! Janitors at the high school include Hansi Bloch, Russ Gillig, Carol Cooke, and Lisa Kennedy. The janitors at the elementary school are Michael Malone and Elliot Weaver. Also at the high school is Bob Bratcher, who is the head of maintenance.

Our amazing team of janitors work very hard every day to keep our school looking nice. They sweep, mop, pick up trash, and dust every day. Our awesome maintenance workers also work hard to make sure our school is the best it can be and check to make sure everything is working. Without these hard workers, our school would be dirty and an unsafe place to learn.

Students at NHHS reflect on the hard work our janitors and maintenance staff do day-in, day-out. When asked how he felt about our janitorial and maintenance workers, Martin Lewis stated, “They do an excellent job and they are really friendly people to talk to.”

Joseph Rethmeyer also commented about the workers. He said, “They do a good job keeping our school clean. They are really funny too.”

Ethan Groner mentioned, “I think they do a good job keeping the place clean. I also think they are understanding and nice.”

Grace Soete also commented, “They work hard to keep our school clean and keep it intact. Without them our school would be not as wonderful as it is now.”

Not only do our students appreciate our hard-working janitors and maintenance workers, but our teachers do too.

Mrs. Anderson said,“I am not quite sure what we would do without our custodians. They continually provide us with a clean environment, setup for events, repairs, and a number of other tasks that are asked of them. They do this all while keeping a smile on their face and having a great attitude. I am extremely thankful for everything they do for our school.”

Ms. McCroskey stated, “The maintenance staff at NHHS are heaven-sent! Russ in particular gets the worst jobs from me-- he's hauled desks and tables across the school for me, and I always feel terrible for making him do it. But he's always so gracious and happy to help-- it's fantastic!”

Mr. Stutzman commented, “Our NHMS and NHHS custodians do a wonderful job. Russ, Hansi, Tessa, Lisa, and Bob keep our building looking its best and we appreciate all they do for us. They are always willing to drop what they are doing to lend a hand.”

Thanks to our wonderful, hard-working team of workers; our school is always clean and well-kept. We deeply appreciate all of your hard work! Words cannot express how grateful we all are for what you do for our school.

Last week April 16th through the 20th was Spirit Week at New Haven Middle School. The Student Council planned the Spirit Week after members attended a Digital Citizenship Summit in Washington, MO. STUCO students there learned about ways to increase and promote Respect, Education, and Protection for students when using digital media, like the Internet, video games, and social media. Everyone could dress up. Some people were excited, but others were not. The Spirit Week was planned for this week because MAP testing is next week.

Here were the theme days: Meme Monday: Protect your personal information! You never know where it can end up! They learned that pictures can be stolen and nothing can be done about it. So think before you post. Twin Tuesday: it is easy to copy! Think before you post! Wednesday was pajama day: Take a rest from your phone/video games/youtube! Thursday was Go Green: Support your team and each other! Post something nice to day! Friday was Video Game Character: Show good character! Be on your best behavior!

My favorite day was Thursday because we always support each other. A student dressed up as Mario for Video Game Character. A lot of people participated in Spirit Week.This was my favorite Spirit Week I ever participated in at school.

Mr. Willimann is the math and PE teacher at New Haven Middle School. Mr. Willimann has been working here for 2 years. He is a kind, trustworthy, and intelligent person who is willing to help you with your problems.

Mr. Willimann enjoys working at New Haven Middle School. He states that he has a lot of memories and enjoys working for the community. Mr. Willimann is leaving New Haven this summer and says it was a hard decision to make, but he and his wife decided it was best for their family. He likes New Haven because it has a strong sense of community and pride. He hopes the kids will feel the same and hopes that he made an impression. Mr. Willimann says that he’ll miss the students, people, staff, and people that go here to New Haven.

Mr.Willimann was born in New Haven and his parents are Mark and Jane Willimann. He also has a sister, Taylor, a kindergarten teacher at Herman.

On Saturday, April 14th, the varsity Scholar Bowl team competed in the district tournament hosted by New Haven High School. After pool play, the first round of competition, Kingston, Crystal City, and New Haven were all tied at 2 wins and 1 loss. The tie was broken by the average number of points per game. After the tie breaker, New Haven was in 3rd place. The team lost in the semi-finals against Kingston. Belle won the first place district title.

In order to earn a spot on the All-District Scholar Bowl team, competitors must be in the top 6 members to answer the most toss up questions correctly. Junior Martin Lewis received 6th place and sophomore John Hughes received 4th place on the All-District Scholar Bowl team.

Jared Pruessner, the coach of the New Haven team, was the tournament director who coordinated the competition. He stated, “I was very thankful for all the help we had from students, teachers, and other staff members. They did a great job and we couldn't have had the tournament without them. There is a lot to do as a tournament director during the course of the tournament and I look forward to different schools hosting next year so I can focus more on working with my team.”

Mr. Pruessner reflected, “Overall I was pleased with how the team did. Obviously we would have liked to win the district title like last year, but the team did their best. I knew it would be tough without our seniors, but I thought John, Martin, and Cece did a good job stepping up in their absence. Sam, Casey, and Bradley were also able to contribute and that was impressive given that it was their first year playing.”

Junior Martin Lewis commented, “Coach was a little frantic because he had a lot on his plate, but I thought we did pretty well. The semi-final round had some pretty tough questions, even coach was surprised. After the first half, the score was only 80-60.”

Cecelia Malone, another junior, commented, “I was proud of how our team did considering we did not have our seniors. There were several good teams to compete against but I think we did our best!”

Congratulations to all the members of Scholar Bowl and Mr. Pruessner for a great season!

Donors to the track project and workers who volunteered during any phase of the construction are invited to a dedication ceremony following the conference track meet. There will be a couple of short speeches followed by a group photo and cake.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disability. It is also defined as a set of behaviors that affects each individual differently. Autism affects the way that people communicate and interact with others. April is most commonly known as Autism Awareness Month, beginning April 1st and ending April 30th.

New Haven High has decided to recognize and celebrate Autism Awareness Month in many different ways. Every week, facts about autism are posted in the daily bulletin, as well as a reminder to students that autism is a unique personality trait that should be celebrated not only in April, but in every month.

New Haven High’s Resource Room encouraged students to wear blue on Tuesday, April 17th, to show their support for autism. There are also puzzle pieces of varying colors displayed throughout the hallways. A bulletin board in the black hallway is decorated with puzzle pieces and other information about autism. Artwork done by students on the ASD spectrum is being displayed as well.

Last week, the daily bulletin mentioned: “1 out of 68 children in the U.S. is on the Autism Spectrum. Autism Spectrum Disorders are almost 5 times more common in boys than girls.Did you know Thomas Jefferson was thought to be somewhere on the Autism Spectrum?”This week, a portion of the daily bulletin is about bullying. It reads: “More than half of children with autism are bullied at some point in their lives and twice more compared to their peers who do not have a disability. More than half of bullying is also stopped when a peer intervenes, showing the importance of not only autism awareness, but also autism acceptance. Researchers at Cambridge University claim Sir Isaac Newton had Asperger’s Syndrome.”

When asked about autism, Mrs. Melissa Bruckerhoff, teacher in the Resource Room, said that when you meet someone with autism, you’re only meeting “one person” with autism. Autism affects people in different ways, and you can’t limit the definition of autism to one singular degree. She also mentioned, “Do not let a diagnosis define a person. Individuals with autism are just that: an individual with autism. It is important to separate the individual from the disability and not use it to define or describe them. I encourage people to say that an individual has autism and not say that the individual is autistic. I also think it is important for everyone to educate themselves not only on autism but other disabilities in order to be understanding, patient, and kind. Inclusion is vital for everyone but specifically those with a developmental disability, and the more people educate themselves, the more inclusion can take place in order for everyone to lead the most productive lives possible while experiencing all the joys associated with being a teenager, adult, or child.”

Sunday, April 8th, to Tuesday, April 10th, was the 2018 FBLA State Conference. Sixteen New Haven students qualified to attend the State Conference, and fourteen attended. The attendees were seniors Emma Engelbrecht, Natalie Hoerstkamp, Liz Hughes, Michelle Bahena, and Dalton Gerdes. Also in attendance were juniors Julia McIntyre, Joseph Rethemeyer, Martin Lewis, Claire Meyer, Olivia Williams, and Ethan Groner. McKenzie Pecaut was the only sophomore and the two freshman attendees were Casey Baker and Emma McIntyre.

New Haven walked away from the conference medaling in three events-- two of them qualifying for nationals! Juniors Julia McIntyre, Joseph Rethemeyer, and Martin Lewis received 10th place in Sports and Entertainment Management. Receiving 4th place in Hospitality Management, the first national qualifiers, were seniors Emma Engelbrecht, Natalie Hoerstkamp, and Liz Hughes. Natalie Hoerstkamp, the second national qualifier, was awarded 3rd place in public speaking.

All of the state attendees were asked about their experience and if they had any advice for other future competitors.

Senior Michelle Bahena competed in Social Media Campaign and she responded about her experience, “My presentation didn't go well (the computer crashed), but I learned from that experience. I'm going into this field, and having this experience is another form of preparation.”

She continued with a piece of advice: “Do a presentation, they only sound intimidating, but they're actually not bad at all. You learn a lot from them.”

Freshman Casey Baker qualified with two tests in Intro to Business Procedures and Intro to Business Communications and added, “Just go because even if you don't medal, it is a really fun experience.”

Congratulations to all of the state competitors. Good luck, Natalie, Liz, and Emma, at nationals!

Second, the athletes were questioned about how they performed in their events, and junior Tim Madden said, “With it being the first real day that was warm, I felt that it went well. I got to see where I was really at and where I need to focus on.”

“I did good in my events, I even beat my personal record,” responded sophomore Lauralie Grater.

Junior Martin Lewis replied, “I did my personal best in the 3200, so I was proud.”

The next question was how the athletes thought the team as a whole performed, and sophomore Kayla Brumels said, “I think our 4x8 team overall did good because we set a personal record. We have improved by a lot. I am super happy about our 4x8 team.”

The New Haven Athletic Boosters will be sponsoring a "Drive 4 UR School" fundraiser this Saturday from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm in the New Haven Lumber parking lot. The booster club receives $20 for each person who comes to test drive a Ford. There is a limit of one driver per household. There is absolutely no sales pressure applied, nor will there be any follow up phone calls, mailings, or emails from Ford after the drive.

This is not time consuming at all. Simply come by and pick from a selection of Fords to take for a quick test drive and then fill out a short survey after the drive. The maximum donation from Ford is $6,000 and the boosters would like to get as close to that as possible.